1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a method of trimming unfired pottery, using a turntable tool. The tool includes a base which spins with a pottery workpiece, and a cap member operatively attached to the base and adapted to rotate relative to the base.
2. Description of the Background Art
It has been a common practice in trimming pottery for an artisan to invert a wheel-thrown workpiece on a rotatable wheel head of a potter's wheel, when the workpiece has partially dried to a stage referred to in the art as “leather hard”; to center the workpiece on the wheel head; and to press downwardly on the inverted base of the workpiece during trimming. It has also been known to place an inverted metal lid in the center of the base of the workpiece during a trimming operation on unfired pottery. This lid may be, for example, a lid from a baby food jar. Then, the artisan places a finger in the center of the lid and applies a light downward pressure to the workpiece, through the lid, while the wheel spins at an appropriate trimming speed, and this stabilizes the workpiece on the wheel head and distributes the finger pressure, while the artisan trims away unwanted superfluous clay from the exterior and base of the workpiece.
Using this type of inverted lid, however, does not entirely avoid the occurrence of friction between the spinning lid and the user's fingertip. Such friction may generate heat and be uncomfortable for the user.
Many different designs for turntables have been patented, for a number of different applications. Examples of some of the known turntables include U.S. Pat. No. 1,409,257 (Staley), U.S. Pat. No. 1,732,113 (Van Der Meer), U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,627 (Slingerland, Jr.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,714 (Busch), U. S. Pat. No. 5,479,867 (Blevins et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,309 (Lu), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,783,123 (Edwards et al.)
Although the known turntables have some utility for their intended purposes, a need still exists in the art for an improved tool for use in trimming unfired clay pots, and to an improved method of trimming unfired clay pots using such a turntable tool. In particular, there is a need for an improved trimming tool which will overcome the difficulties encountered with the known art, and which will speed up the trimming process.